Editorial: Try a simple solution for Orange County Government Center

The Orange County Legislature has a simple solution at hand to solve the puzzle of what to do about the Government Center in Goshen if only it will seize the opportunity.

Don’t move.

Ever since storms in 2011 gave Ed Diana an excuse to close the building he had had long hoped to condemn, legislators have struggled to make sense of what really happened and what needed to be done.

That confusion persists today.

Back when the carpets were still drying out, county officials worried about mold even though the Federal Emergency Management Agency concluded that the threat was overblown.

Mold is making a comeback now with fears that some future employee might get sick and sue the county. Dig deeper and the real fear is not mold but the county’s need for a strong legal defense against a “unionized workforce,” as Public Works Commissioner Charles Lee told legislators.

Back then, Diana was sure that replacement would be cheaper than repairs. FEMA concluded that the damages and the costs to remediate them were far lower.

Today, the disconnect between the county on the one hand and state and federal officials on the other is once again holding up progress. Just as the county was ready to unleash the bulldozers, the state Historic Preservation Office and FEMA said that they had questions about the plans. The big question turns out to be “what plans?” since the feds said they had not received any from the county since 2012.

Add to this confusion the disputes over the facade, over repairs to other buildings and over a legislator with close ties to a contractor and the need for clarity has never been more urgent.

And that’s just what legislators can have if they look back to last spring when a person they know well told them something they should have been happy to hear.

While the Government Center has remained closed, the parking lots empty, the luncheon crowds thin, the county government has gone on and functioned efficiently. Through all of the turmoil about architecture and leaky roofs, county workers have handled county business. Nobody has raised even a hint that they have not done their work well.

That was the point that Deputy County Executive James O’Donnell made as he went out the door, having decided to break with his boss, Ed Diana.

As he wrote in the opinion column that cost him his job on May 8, 2013, government was working quite well in buildings that the county could buy for much less than the cost of whatever ended up being done to the Government Center.

O’Donnell knew what he was talking about and made the case clearly.

And if there’s something that county legislators should want to grasp at this point, it’s a plan that provides services, saves money and avoids conflicts with the federal and state government.

If they are not willing to consider such a plan, they need to explain why. And if they do consider it, they will have a hard time justifying the expensive and chaotic choices that they seem to be in such a hurry to embrace.